European women who lived in nineteenth- and twentieth-century foreign outposts sought authoritative voices to guide them through the challenges of living far from the familiar. Although local labor bore the brunt of daily domestic work, wives of the colonialists need information on how to direct their servants.

And as the list below amply illustrates, plenty of authors and authoresses took up their pens to relieve the white woman’s burden. Today, many of the books are scarce and rare.

Silver Condiment Spoon

Take Bon Appetit: Secrets from Shanghai Kitchens, by Lady Maze and Mrs. V. G. Bowden (1940), “compiled with the aim of benefiting British war funds.” Owned by only eight libraries in the world, according to WorldCat, Bon Appetit reflects the Russian influence in Shanghai, as the first chapter starts out with the title “Cocktails and Zakouska.” Clearly Russian for hors d’oeuvre, zakouska (zakuska) represents the nineteenth-century entente between Russia and England, especially the close marriage ties so characteristic of the monarchies of those nations.

Postcard of the “Bund” in Shanghai — waterfront along the Huangpu river, Yangtze delta

Lady Maze’s husband, Sir Frederick Maze, nephew of Sir Robert Hart, served as Inspector-General of the Chinese Maritime Customs from 1937-1941. She contributed recipes for White Curry, Rice Ring, Sukiyaki (!), Spaghetti Bologna with meat Sauce, Gnocchie [sic], Chicken Mousse, Minced Kidney on Toast, and Wein-Chandeau (“Austrian first cousin to Italian zabaglione”). Altogether, a very sophisticated collection. Hardly of much use with the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.

Bond, Ruskin and Saili, Ganesh. The Landour Cookbook: Over Hundred Years of Hillside Cooking (New Delhi, 2001 — originally published in 1930)

La bonne cuisine aux tropiques : a simplified and abbreviated treatise on foods and their cooking as they are prepared in some tropical countries, especially Mauritius = traite simplifie et abrege des substances alimentaires et la facon de les preparer dans certains pays tropicaux, specialement a l’ile Maurice / produced in English and in French with a glossary in Hindustani by W.B. Collingridge. (Port Louis, 1954 — English text on left page, French text on right.)

Bradley, E. G. A Household Book for Tropical Colonies (London, 1948)

Bregion, Joseph and Miller, Anne. The Practical Cook, English and Foreign(London, 1845 — available on Google Books)

The Indian Cookery Book (Calcutta, 1880 — available on Google Books and Gutenberg)

Johnston, James P. A hundred years of eating: food, drink andthe daily diet in Britain since the late nineteenth century (Dublin, 1977)

Kenney-Herbet, Colonel. Wyvern’s Indian Cookery Book (Madras, 1869) (Look for this also under the following: Wyvern, Culinary Jottings: a treatise … reformed cookery for Anglo-Indian rites (1885 — available via the Internet Archive and Google Books)

Smith, Elder. The Englishwoman in India: containing information for the use of ladies proceeding to, or residing in, the East Indies, on the subjects of their outfit, furniture, housekeeping . To which are added receipts for Indian cookery, by a lady resident. (recipes p 115 et seq, 1864 — available on Google Books)

Soyer, Alexis. A shilling cookery for the people; embracing anentirely new system of plain cookery and domestic economy (London, 1854)

Spencer, C. British food: an extraordinary thousand years of history (London, 2002)

Spry, Angela. The Mem Sahibs Book of Cookery (Allahabad, 1894)

Steel, F. A. and Gardiner, G. The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook (Bombay 1893; available on Google Books)

Hi Cindy,
I’m preparing to celebrate Women’s History Month this month and I must figure out a way to include this post. The bibliography is absolutely amazing. Oh how I wish I had more time…Thank you so much for all of your precious time and energy. You’ve done an amazing job…